Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler suffered a broken left foot during minicamp today, the team confirmed.

Scheffler will have surgery Monday and is scheduled to be out two months. If there are no unforeseen setbacks in his recovery, Scheffler should be ready for the start of the Broncos’ training camp in late July.

“He’ll be fine,” said Stephen Alexander, who started ahead of Scheffler last season. “I know he’s a little bummed, but if there’s a positive to something like this, it’s that it happened now and not in training camp. Once the season starts, everyone will forget this even happened.”

Scheffler was running an uncontested route when he felt something pop in his foot. X-rays revealed the break and it was determined surgery was the best option, not only for a full recovery but in the quickest time.

A rookie last season, Scheffler was impressive during the preseason as he emerged as a favorite target of quarterback Jay Cutler. When the regular season began, Cutler went to the sideline for seasoning while Scheffler all but went unnoticed by veteran quarterback Jake Plummer.

When Cutler became the starting quarterback in Game 12, Scheffler’s production immediately improved. Scheffler had 12 of his 18 receptions and all four of his touchdown catches in the final five games that Cutler started at quarterback.

During the offseason, the Broncos signed free-agent tight end Daniel Graham to a contract worth a guaranteed $15 million, but Scheffler’s role as one of Cutler’s favorite targets wasn’t expected to diminish.

“They obviously thought he would make the team better and you can’t argue that,” Scheffler said Thursday, the day before he suffered his injury. “I have to keep doing what I do. I still think there’s a place for me in this offense. I think it would be silly for me to get discouraged.”

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.